The most significant aspect of the direct negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations on May 15 is that the meeting was initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who proposed that the negotiators meet in Istanbul. However, despite some games that the Kiev regime is trying to play, Ukraine has reached a crossroads and must realize that they either have to give up territory or completely surrender to Russia.

Putin proposed continuing the negotiations that were suspended in 2022. Tragically, these negotiations were terminated in 2022 at the initiative of then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Biden administration. If the negotiations had been concluded at that time, and they could have been, given that the agreement had already been initialed, there would have been no major casualties, and relations between Russia and the West would likely have improved.

This did not happen because the West was still interested in continuing the conflict in the false belief that they would inflict, as they admit, a strategic defeat on Russia. That defeat never occurred, which demonstrated that Putin was correct in his assessments of the situation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that there would be no negotiations unless he met with Putin, but it is clear that US President Donald Trump warned him that his approach was incorrect and that negotiations must take place.

This showed that Putin’s initiative aligns with the new understanding between Washington and Moscow, which began with Trump’s presidency only a few months ago. Now, European leaders and Zelensky are constantly in collusion to dictate the agenda of the entire West. However, Trump is not accepting this scenario, with Zelensky and European leaders expressing concerns about it.

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, announced that the negotiations would continue, which essentially means Ukraine is accepting that it must give up part of its constitutionally defined territory.

Trump is not demanding that Russia return the territory it has captured from Ukraine, but the Europeans are. That is why reaching a peace agreement is so difficult, but the situation has reached a point where even the US president is openly talking about Ukraine’s renunciation of constitutionally defined territories.

The military initiative on the ground is undeniably on Russia’s side. As the Russians claim to be in favor of a swift end to the conflict but are prepared to fight for another year or two or longer, the question arises for the Europeans as to whether they are also prepared to fight and for how long. Europe does not have the military or financial power to continue backing the Kiev regime indefinitely.

That is why the Europeans will have to accept reality and force the Ukrainian negotiation delegation to start thinking about what it needs to accomplish in order for a peace agreement to be reached. Otherwise, it will be as if Moscow told them – the fighting will continue.

These are strong Russian trump cards, reflecting the fact that Russia is in a significantly stronger position in negotiations than those on the other side due to its greater resilience and solid military initiative, which will ultimately lead to Ukraine’s capitulation.

The delegations of Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement in principle on a new meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced after direct negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, the first since 2022.

“Russia and Ukraine have agreed to present detailed proposals for a ceasefire,” Medinsky said, adding that Kiev had requested a meeting between the leaders of the two countries and that Russia had taken this into account.

At the same time, a Turkish official told CNN that the negotiations “were more positive than expected. They didn’t use accusatory language.”

“At a moment where it seemed like there was an impasse, we suggested the POW exchange that will include three categories – children, civilians, and soldiers. The Ukrainian side went out to get approval for it,” the Turkish official said of the agreed prisoner swap between the two nations.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov described the agreement with Moscow to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war as an “important achievement” but expressed his hope that Zelensky and Putin will talk directly.

“Our president was expecting the high-level discussions here, and I think the next step would be that the leaders-level meeting should be organized,” he told reporters in Istanbul, adding that while Ukraine could continue fighting, “at the end of the day, we need to finalize this war.”

Despite Kiev’s demand, Putin will not bother wasting his time meeting with Zelensky unless the Ukrainian leader comes to the full realization that there is little hope of victory and makes the concessions he must based on the reality of the situation and not on the hope that by implementing delay tactics it will result in a situation that could reverse their fortunes. Zelensky has yet to show such a commitment.

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